A day after former Congress councillor and UAPA accused Ishrat Jahan told the court how her life in Mandoli jail was at stake 'if any immediate preventive measures were not taken', Karkardooma court judge Amitabh Rawat took strict note of the episode and asked jail authorities to submit a status report by 10 am on Wednesday, 23 December.
Advocate Misbah Bin Tariq, for Ishrat Jahan, told the court how the jail authorities were to submit a status report. The jail superintendent as well as Ishrat Jahan were present at the hearing as well. The hearing that was to start around 10 am, started after 11 am.
Rawat asked Ishrat if the problem was solved, to which she responded, “I have been attacked for the second time now within approximately a month. There is an inmate here who provokes the others against me and is a lesbian.” She explained how she was beaten, abused, and her clothes torn on the morning of 22 December. “The first time this happened to me were on 20 November and it was again one of these women who provoked the episode then,” she continued.
“It has been ten months and I have dealt with too many things, but now I request you to transfer these three, S*****, P****alias G***** and G****** or transfer me to another jail. All these women indulge in vulgar activities. I already have medical complications and am in jail in a highly sensitive case. I can not handle this.”
Ishrat told the court how despite the court intervention from 22 December, P**** allegedly threatened her again, “She told me that I am not my father’s child if I do not ruin your face. I called the staff and told them I was being threatened again and they said they can not plaster her face with tape.”
The jail superintendent present in the meeting explained, that P**** was only in her room and did not confront Ishrat while making any comment. Regarding the other two women, she said. “It is right that S***** was shifted here from another prison while Ishrat and G****** were friends earlier and she (Ishrat) is in a better position to explain what happened.”
Ishrat’s lawyer Pradeep Teotia intervened and said, “The submission is not only about her safety, but when a female outrages another female’s modesty, there are provisions in the law for it. Stringent and criminal action must be taken and an offence is made under Section 354 IPC (outraging modesty of women). You can scare my client as much as you want, but we will take these complaints up to higher authorities if needed.”
The judge acknowledged what everyone said and reserved the case order for later in the day.
What Happened on 22 December?
On 22 December, Ishrat’s husband Farhan Hashmi told this reporter, "This is the second time that this is happening. Her clothes have been torn, her head smashed against the wall several times. She is being constantly abused and threatened. They are constantly extorting her to do things... to let her live peacefully. They are saying things like she has to arrange a litre of milk everyday."
An emergency application was moved by Ishrat’s lawyer, Pradeep Teotia, on 22 December in a Delhi court. In the application accessed by The Quint, the lawyer noted, "That it is submitted that the applicant has been badly thrashed by her co-inmates on the morning of 22 December during which she suffered injuries on her body and her clothes were also torn apart." The judge had asked for a status report to be filed on the morning of 23 December.
Ishrat was arrested on 26 February from the Khureji protest site, while riots ravaged parts of northeast Delhi. She was arrested under FIR number 44/2020 at Jagatpuri police station where she was accused of inciting the mob to remain present at the spot. She was granted bail in this case about a month later on 21 March. The very same day she was arrested again under FIR number 59/2020 under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
On 10 June, she was granted a ten-day interim bail for her wedding, and returned to jail premises on 19 June.
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